Mission Statement
Despite the best attempts of the zoo community, animals’ enclosures
will never be true representations of their natural habitats because
they are small and synthetic exhibits. As a result, animals tend to use
coping mechanisms known as stereotypies (or abnormal repetitive
behaviors) in order to relieve stress induced by the captive
environment (Pitsko 2003). Stress may cause reduced fecundity and can
be detrimental to animals’ mental and physical health (Van Metter et
al. 2008). Captive felids are particularly susceptible to these adverse
affects. Additionally, when animals exhibit more natural behaviors they
act as better representations of their species in order to educate the
public, serve as research subjects, and encourage greater conservation.
Solving stress-related problems is thus in accordance with three goals
of the zoo community, which are “conservation, research… [and]
education” (Churchman 1987).